“I’m assured and thankful we have entrusted The Stitch Smith to provide our corporate apparel, As this organization embodies the same values we embrace at The Heart Center of Indiana: a caring and respectful attitude, exceptional skills, and dedication to service. You could say The Stitch Smith puts ‘our hearts in the right place,’ so everyone can see how proud we are of our outstanding staff and facilities.”
A Great Reputation One Stitch at a Time
Greenwood’s Erin Smith built her business from scratch, but she’s far from finished
The recommendation from regarding applicants for the 2010 Ernest G. Mishler Community Service Award required a staple once listing the qualifications of Erin Smith finally came to a close. Longwinded answers made it so four pages were needed to adequately respond to six questions pertaining to Smith. It could have been more. Who knows? Maybe Jill Bode of Designed Write Public Relations, the person responsible for signing Smith’s praises in eye-grabbing blue type, was looking out for the trees.
More accurately, she was looking out for Smith, owner of The Stitch Smith in Greenwood the past nine years and one of the true movers and shakers when it comes to business being conducted between the boundaries of Johnson County.
And as anyone who knows Smith will bear out, the wheels never stop turning. When it comes to The Stitch Smith, a custom embroiderer and screen-print apparel company used by businesses looking to add muscle to their image, Smith never ceases to have ideas bouncing around inside her head.
Smith wasted no time entrenching herself in all things Johnson County after her husband’s job transfer brought the family to Greenwood from Murfreesboro, TN, in April 2001.
“I started The Stitch Smith because my family got relocated here. I interviewed for other jobs and I realized that with two small children I didn’t want to be away from home,” she says. “I researched for about six months looking for a business I could run from home.”
Over the nine years that have passed, Smith’s business savvy and confidence gradually increased, table-setters for the bold new avenues The Stitch Smith now travels.
“I would call myself a progressive entrepreneur. I began adding pieces to my company, and in 2009 I met my business partner, Susan McCarty, who runs Franklin Printing.” says Smith. “She was in need of a sales person and I was in need of revenue. We put our heads together and co-branded and co-marketed our companies and both of us had our best years ever.”
Therefore, if one scours the Internet in search of information regarding The Stitch Smith, they’ll locate it beneath the title of Spotlight Strategies (spotlight-strategies.com) along with contact information for Franklin Printing. The two companies will have officially merged by the end of 2010 to become Spotlight Strategies.
“What we’re best at is helping our customers with a marketing problem or opportunity. From a community standpoint, I love people and am genuinely interested in what they’re doing. The Stitch Smith is still a pretty important part of the business. Definitely a core part. However, when the market changes, your business adjusts,” says Smith. “In the next five years we want to be one of the top five players in central Indiana when it comes to the services we provide.”
Among them, she says, are business printing, image apparel, promotional items, signage and corporate gifts.
This, like the majority of business ventures, is a roll of the dice for both women. Yet since accomplishment breeds assurance, the person who came to Johnson County nine years ago not knowing a single soul, enters this exciting phase of her work career with no apprehensiveness whatsoever.
“I’ve had a lot of people who have been very tentative because so many business relationships have failed,” says Smith. “But I will say I’m a risk-taker and once I set my sights on something, rarely do I veer from that path. I’m just very determined to succeed. Life is short. You make positive of what you can today and that propels you forward.”
Bode, for one, marvels at the way Smith has so tightly embraced Johnson County, especially considering the latter had never so much as set foot here prior to 2001.
“Erin moved to this community and just loved living here from the start.” says Bode. “She is just a very driven person who doesn’t care for failure. And she has such talent for bringing out the best in people.”
Annual Women in Leadership presented by Southside Business Exchange
ANNUAL WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
Q-AND-A’s WITH SOME OF THE AREA’S LEADING WOMEN
Name: Susan McCarty
Job Title: President
Company name: Franklin Printing
Company address: 170 East Commerce Drive, Franklin, IN 46131
Family: I have an awesome husband of 25 years and business partner, Drew, an adult son, Travis McCarty, who is a student in college studying high performance engineering, and an adult daughter, Heather Falks, who is married, a student in law school, and mother of my 2 grandchildren, Hunter and Peyton Falks.
Educational background: IUPUI – Liberal Arts and Business
Employment background: I began my entrepreneurial journey in the early 80’s earning my Real Estate Broker’s license and working in our family real estate business getting my first experiences with asset management, business finance and administration. In the late 80’s my husband, Drew, and I started, operated and after 6 years sold our first company, Meditech. Following that successful venture we concluded we enjoyed working together and decided in the mid 90’s to start another company in a different industry – printing! We started this company in the garage of our home, expanding quickly into a small warehouse with retail frontage then tripled our size through the acquisition of Franklin Printing. We are now located in a modern building that we own and have exciting plans for more growth in the coming year.
Organizations: Greater Greenwood Chamber of Commerce; Franklin Chamber of Commerce: National Association of Women Business Owners: Community Church of Greenwood; Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors: National Association of Realtors; Graduate; Leadership Johnson County.
What do you like most about your job or career field? I enjoy watching my staff work with clients through the entire creative process. Beginning with the initial design conception, through refining and proof analysis, to witnessing the first images coming off the equipment, and finally in bindery watching as it all comes together. There is no greater joy for an employer than to witness the smile on my staff’s faces as they deliver product they are proud to have produced to a satisfied customer!
What are the biggest challenges you face? For over 63 years Franklin Printing has been known in Johnson County as a full-service commercial printing company. Over the past two years, through our partnership with The Stitch Smith, we’ve expanded our production capabilities and services to include embroidered image wear, promotional products, signs and screen printing. The re-branding of our image and offerings, expanding the awareness to our current and future customers is my biggest challenge in this coming year.
How would you characterize your leadership philosophy or style? It is my belief that what will define me as having been an effective leader is more a matter of significance. The significant difference my life can make in the lives of others. The hearts and lives of those I’ve come across in my personal and business interactions who are in some way better because of the way I lived and lead should be a testimony to the biblical leadership principles I strive to embody. “For out of the overflow of ‘her’ heart ‘her’ mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45.
What leader do you most admire or try to emulate? Why? I struggle with this question because I admire many leaders in different aspects of their character, ability to effectively influence and leadership philosophy. If pressed I’d say I greatly admire the witness of Christian faith and effective leadership Tony Dungy consistently demonstrated to a watching nation. I don’t try to emulate anyone in particular, rather I’ll reference the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson “Do no go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Has the perception of women in leadership roles in business changed in the last 20 years? If so, how? Certainly I believe the positions women hold in business leadership has evolved over the past 20 years. In my own personal experience I know I witness more females participating in and leading professional organizations and boards. Women are also more prevalent in high level management and finacial negotiations than I experienced starting out. As a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners I am frequently reminded of our growth, empowered regularly by fellow colleagues and encouraged to mentor the next, even larger, generation of strong, effective female leaders – my daughter to be one of them!
What is your advice to fellow business leaders in these difficult economic times? Everyone has their own story, resources and baggage, so there is no ‘one answer fits all’ or ‘feel good’ platitude I can share. What works for me is founded in the Christian principles by which I guide my life. I lift my head and tell my heart to live by faith and not by sight. I attempt to do my part with excellence daily, persevering in midst of some very challenging circumstances, trusting in prayer to God the details I cannot control.
What do you do when you’re not working (hobbies, community involvement, etc)? I have a passion for my leadership service in a Christian women’s ministry. The hours I spend weekly studying the bible, shepherding, sharing and praying with other women from all walks of life is priceless. The energy I have left is then multiplied in my relationship with three fellow businesswomen, Erin Smith, Jill Bode, and Deb Walton. The mighty foursome formed “The Savvy Dames”, combining our talents, connections and resources to organize and participate in fundraising events supporting organizations in our community for which we all have a passion:”An Affair to Read” benefiting The Greenwood Public Library; “An Afternoon at the Oscars” benefiting our own Woman’s Leadership Scholarship for the Leadership Johnson County program, Habitat for Humanity’s “Mystery Breakfast” and numerous functions with the National Association of Women Business Owners.
What famous leader, living or dead, would you most like to meet and why? Moses. I studied the book of Exodus and the life of Moses last year and was amazed at the leadership lessons I learned with practical application in my present-day personal and business responsibilities and challenges. What a colorful life Moses led-what a fantastic leader he was to the nation of Israel. I would love to hear him recount his adventures and lessons first hand!
Indy’s Best & Brightest in Retail, Manufacturing & Services
GREENWOOD BUSINESS OWNER ERIN SMITH WINS
Indianapolis, September 25, 2009 – Erin Smith, owner of The Stitch Smith in Greenwood, has been chosen for Indy’s Best and Brightest in Retail, Manufacturing & Services. On September 23, 2009, Indy’s Best & Brightest honored 100 of Central Indiana’s outstanding young professionals who are making their mark in and around Indianapolis.
As winner of the Retail, Services & Manufacturing category, Smith will receive enrollment in the Lacy Leadership LEAD program and participation in a partnership with the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC). More at: http://www.indysbestandbrightest.com.
Erin Smith has been part of the commercial embroidery industry for over eight years. Before starting her own company, she spent eight years in the competitive health care industry, eventually becoming director of a health-care facility. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Smith is a board member for Greater Greenwood Chamber of Commerce, NAWBO, Johnson County’s long-term disaster recovery program and the Johnson County council of the Builder’s Association of Greater Indianapolis.
She is a passionate volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and also serves as an editorial advisory board member for EMB magazine and as an advisory board member for the Embroidery Trade Association. Because of her experiences when she first started her business, she is emphatic about taking the time to mentor and educate small business owners. Earlier this year, she was a finalist for the Indiana Commission for Women Torchbearer Award for Entrepreneurship. She lives in Greenwood with her husband Trey Smith and their two sons Bailey and Benjamin.
Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in affiliation with Junior Achievement Worldwide. Its purpose is to educate and inspire young people to value free enterprise, business, and economics to improve the quality of their lives. More at: http://www.jaindy.org/
To Slim Down, Businesses Team Up
August 27, 2009
Wall Street Journal
By Diana Ransom
WHEN SARAH PACE, the founder of Brooklyn, N.Y.,-based caterer Rabbit Mafia, wanted to devise a dining concept that would appeal to hungry, cash-strapped New Yorkers, she knew she’d need help. Pace’s plan was to revive the supper club, a Depression-era tradition that draws on chefs, bar tenders, musicians, promoters and a critical mass of popularity to gain traction in the community. Fortunately for Pace, the idea appealed to a lot of her friends, too. Read the full story »
Printers Press Importance of Sticking to What You Know
By Mike Eads
Johnson County Business Leader
Drew and Susan McCarty like being entrepreneurs more and more as the years go by. Their Franklin Printing Co. continues to grow, thanks to a strong referral business, some direct mail, an outside salesman and a commitment to sticking with what works. Read the full story »